An assault by forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi in the heart of Benghazi, the capital of the rebellion against the Libyan strongman’s 41-year reign, led to a panicked flight of thousands of residents and tougher action from the international community today.

But the reality this morning in Benghazi was one of tank shelling, rocket fire, and the first attack by Qaddafi loyalists inside the city since a popular uprising drove most of his soldiers out last month. Civilian homes were hit in the process.

France responded by scrambling its own jets around Benghazi this afternoon, and the French government later announced that it had destroyed a government tank.

'No mercy'

Today’s attacks by Qaddafi's forces came after a week of threats to show “no mercy” to the rebellion in Benghazi and a psychological operations (psyops) campaign of telephone calls to supporters of the rebellion, promising death.